The term “franchise player” is used to describe a star who, by the excellence of his play on the field, plays a major role in his team’s success or, in some cases, its very existence. John “Paddy” Driscoll, who excelled as a quarterback and halfback, proved himself to be a franchise player of the rarest kind.

The Chicago Cardinals, a charter member of the National Football League were challenged in the Windy City by another league team, the Tigers. The Cardinals hired Driscoll, for the then-princely sum of $300 a game in an effort to bolster the team’s performance on the field and in the box office. In a mid-season game against the Tigers, Driscoll scored the game’s only touchdown to lead the Cardinals to a 6-0 victory, giving them bragging rights as Chicago’s best.

The Tigers folded following the 1920 season. Driscoll at just 5-11 and 160 pounds was not very big. But size didn’t prevent him from excelling on both offense and defense, and he was particularly skilled in punting and dropkicking. After the Bears moved to Chicago in 1921, they quickly became the Cardinals archrivals. Driscoll seemed always to be at his peak when the two teams played. In 1922, he scored all the points on dropkicked field goals as the Cardinals beat the Bears, 6-0 and 9-0.

When the famed Red Grange made his pro debut against the Cardinals in 1925, Driscoll angered the large crowd by continually punting away from the “Galloping Ghost.” “I decided if one of us was going to look bad, it wasn’t going to be me. Punting to Grange is like grooving a pitch to Babe Ruth,” he explained. The possibility that Driscoll might defect to a new league being formed in 1926 prompted his trade to the Bears, where he continued to subdue the opposition single-handed through the remainder of his career that ended following the 1929 season.

Born in Gilead, Nebraska, Presnell attended DeWitt High School and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He played college football as a halfback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team from 1925 to 1927. In 1925, Presnell led Nebraska to a 14–0 victory over an Illini team that included the “Galloping Ghost”, Red Grange. As one writer put it, “all the galloping was done by Presnell this day.” Presnell was selected as a first-team player on the 1927 College Football All-America Team.

After leaving Nebraska, Presnell played football for the Ironton Tanks in Ironton, Ohio. He was a player-coach for the team and also taught science at Ironton High School. Presnell was a halfback in Ironton’s single wing offense and also played on defense at what would later be considered the safety position. Although not officially part of the National Football League, the Tanks played against teams in the league. In 1930, Presnell led Ironton to victories over both the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears. Against the Giants, the Tanks trailed 12-6 with three seconds left. Presnell threw a touchdown pass to Gene Alford and then kicked the extra point to give Ironton a 13–12 victory over a Giants team that finished in second place in the NFL. He also scored two touchdowns against the Bears, including an 88-yard run.

After the 1930 season, the Tanks folded. In 1931, Presnell joined the Portsmouth Spartans in the NFL. He remained with Portsmouth from 1931 to 1933. He had his best season in 1933, when he led the NFL in total offense with 1,296 yards. He also broke the single-season NFL scoring record with 64 points. (Ken Strong tied with Presnell with the same point total in 1933.) During the 1933 NFL season, Presnell completed 50 of 125 passes for 774 passing yards and added 522 rushing yards on 118 carries for an average of 4.4 yards per carry. He also kicked five field goals and 13 extra points. He led the NFL with six rushing touchdowns and 13 successful extra point conversions. He also finished second in the league (behind Harry Newman) in passing touchdowns, passes completed, pass attempts, and passing yards. Following the 1933 season, Presnell was selected as a first-team All-NFL player by the NFL, the United Press, and Collyers Eye Magazine.

In 1934, the owner of the Portsmouth Spartans sold the team. The team was moved from Portsmouth, Ohio to Detroit, Michigan, and became the Detroit Lions. When Presnell visited Detroit to sign his first contract with the Lions in 1934, team owner George A. Richards allowed Presnell to pick the team’s colors. Presnell later recalled:

“Mr. Richards, the owner, the day I was up there and signed my contract, he said: ‘There’s a table out there in the next office covered with uniforms. Why don’t you pick out the colors you like?’ I went out. My wife was with me. We saw this Honolulu blue and silver and we fell in love with it.”

Presnell remained with the Lions from 1934 to 1936. He combined with Dutch Clark, Ace Gutowsky, and Ernie Caddel to lead the Lions to a second-place finish in 1934. And in 1935, the same group led the Lions to their first NFL championship, culminating with a 26-7 victory over the New York Giants in the 1935 NFL Championship Game. Presnell also set an NFL record with a 54-yard field goal in 1934, a mark that was not broken until 1953.